Chapter 247 Failing the Exam

She raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping over everyone in the main room.

Some watched coldly, some pretended to be serious, and some had a hostile look on their faces.

Finally, his gaze settled on Yun Zhonglei's face, his voice trembling but clear: "Village chief, you saw it all. I'm the one in charge of this household. I make all the decisions—buying rice and oil, paying the grain tax, sending the children to school—but I'm the one who gets beaten. If I can't even protect my own face, how can I be the head of the household? Who would believe me if I said that?"

Yun Zhonglei felt a pang of sadness, as if he were being cut by a dull knife, a mixture of soreness and pain.

He stood up, turned to Shen Cuifen who was standing to the side, gave her a wink, and whispered, "Help her up."

Shen Cuifen immediately stepped forward, squatted down, held Zhao Lin's arm with one hand, and gently patted her back with the other: "Sister Zhao Lin, don't cry, let's not provoke them. Get up and sit down, don't squat on the ground."

Yun Zhonglei then turned to Zhou Nuli, his tone turning colder: "You're also a worker at the joint venture factory. The factory meetings always emphasize democracy and rules. You can't just stand by and watch; you're from the Zhou family, but you're also a public servant. Can't you be a little more reasonable?"

Zhou swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He looked at the village chief's cold face, then at the eyes of the people around him, his heart pounding with anxiety. How could he dare to offend Yun Zhonglei?

But he couldn't bring himself to publicly contradict his own family members.

He gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and finally shouted, "Zhou Liguo, you have to take the blame for the mess you've made! Don't expect anyone else to take the fall for you! Just like Zhou Jianguo, if you commit a crime, you have to go to jail, no one can take your place! That's the rule, and whoever breaks the rule will suffer the consequences!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Anguo stiffened his neck and his face immediately turned red, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

His voice immediately rose, and he pointed at Zhou Nuli, shouting, "Who are you yelling at? Zhou Jianguo's money was redeemed by my mother with 500 yuan! It wasn't public funds, it wasn't stolen or robbed, it was money my mother saved herself! Of that 1,000 yuan, 500 yuan was money I earned! I carried bricks at the brick factory, my skin peeled from the sun, I was so tired I was vomiting blood, that's how I earned it! You don't do any work, but instead you turn around and accuse me, what kind of person are you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jianguo's anger flared up instantly. His eyes turned bloodshot, and he shoved aside the person blocking his way, yelling at Zhou Anguo, "You earned that? You're just lying on the kang all day eating for free, working only sporadically, not even getting enough work points, never earning a penny. Where did you get five hundred? That money was scrimped and saved by my mother! Did you dream about it while lying on the kang? How dare you mention that money? How dare you stand here and talk?"

Zhou Anguo's chubby body swayed, like a lump of dough churning in boiling water, his fat face trembling with the movement: "Mother said it herself, give it all to me! This money is mine to begin with! Who told me to be your most beloved son? You can't go back on your word!"

Zhou Nuli couldn't hold back any longer. His face turned ashen, and he rushed forward, pointing his finger at him and yelling, "Your family is so poor we can't even afford to eat, the rice jar is almost empty, and you still have the nerve to come here and yell for money? You've been hiding money, and now you have the nerve to cause trouble? Do you know that he squanders his money? The year before last, he bought cigarettes, alcohol, and gambled away, wearing out the soles of his shoes without doing any work! Are you deliberately trying to ruin our family?"

Zhou Liguo's eyes also reddened, bloodshot, his hands clenched into fists, knuckles white, his voice filled with suppressed anger and grievance: "Mother, you hold the money in your hands, yet you make me work outside in the wind and rain, carrying bricks and cement under the scorching sun, my hands cracked and bleeding! But look at him? He lies around all day eating salted vegetables and steamed buns, doing absolutely no work! Am I really your biological son? If you really love your son, why don't you love me, the one who's working so hard outside?"

Zhou Jianguo slammed his fist on the table, his roar making the windows rattle: "That five hundred yuan must have been saved by Mom from selling fried dough sticks! Every single penny was earned by her getting up before dawn to fry dough sticks, the oil splattering on her face and causing blisters! That's the family's lifeline, not something you can keep all to yourself! Why can't I spend it? I'm her son too! I've also gone hungry, I also grew up wearing patched pants!"

The room was buzzing with noise, like thousands of bees swirling overhead, making the air thick and restless, as if a pot had exploded.

The four men took turns shouting insults, spitting everywhere, and kicking the tables and chairs until they creaked.

Zhao Lin sat on the old wooden stool, his back straight, his face as pale as paper. The more he listened, the colder his heart became, as if someone had poured ice water over his head, chilling him to the soles of his feet.

Her eyes were unfocused, her lips trembled slightly, and even her breathing became difficult.

Even the village chief standing to the side shook his head, his wrinkled face filled with helplessness. He sighed softly and said in a low voice, "What a tragedy... We're all family, how could it come to this?"

Slowly, she used all her strength to clench Shen Cuifen's cold little hand, as if grasping the last straw, and slowly stood up. Her legs were a little weak, but she still stood steadily.

She pulled three crumpled, greasy bills from her inner pocket, her fingers turning white from the force. Suddenly, she slammed them down hard on the mottled wooden table with a crisp "smack," the sound like the tolling of a judgment bell.

"Anguo, what did I say back then? If you got into university, I'd give you the money. That was the rule, and it was a promise. But did you get in? Did you even receive your acceptance letter?"

Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a knife, cutting into everyone's ears.

Zhou Anguo stared intently at the stack of money, his pupils contracting, greed almost overflowing from his eyes. His throat bobbed, and he immediately began to plead, "Mom, the acceptance letter hasn't arrived yet! The post office said yesterday that delivery would be delayed! Maybe it will arrive tomorrow! I properly filled out my application! You can't deny my grades just because you haven't seen the paper!"

Zhao Lin sneered, a mocking smile curving his lips, his gaze fixed on him like a nail: "You really think you'll receive an acceptance letter? Last year you got 27 points in math, your Chinese essay was off-topic, and your English was just a mess of scribbles! Out of more than 300 candidates in the county, you ranked 298th! Before the post office delivers your acceptance letter, they'll probably send you a 'regretful failure' condolence letter first!"

Zhou Jianguo spat on the ground, spittle flying onto the mud, his voice filled with undisguised contempt: "If he could receive that, even a sow could ride a tricycle into the city! Would he really hold a 'welcome ceremony for rural college students'? Dream on!"

Zhou Anguo's eyes, which were squeezed into slits by his fat, instantly turned bloodshot and glared fiercely at Zhao Lin. His face turned a purplish-red, and he roared, "Mother, I am your most beloved son! When I was little, you carried me for ten miles along the mountain road to see a doctor when I had a fever, and you carried me to school on your back in the rain! Now that you have money, you don't recognize me anymore? If you don't give it to me, who will? Are you really going to let that girl from another family benefit from it?"

Zhao Lin grabbed the stack of money, his nails digging deep into the pages, his neck stiffening, veins throbbing, and his voice suddenly rising in pitch.